The Wisdom Experiment… Wisdom – we all want it, but we want it now! However, like beauty, wisdom cannot be cooked up in a microwave. Instead, it needs a slow-cooker. For the next 31 days or so, come along with me as I ruminate on a wisdom saying from each chapter in the book of Proverbs.

Category: restraint

19 A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

20 The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

21 Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.

22 Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

So if you were intrigued, even just a little bit, by the title of this post and the pic, then what the proverbs say concerning the allure of wealth is true. Wealth, money, riches, etcetera, all need to come with a warning on them stating something like, “WARNING: Be careful what you long for!”

Let’s admit it, I think there is something in all of us that wouldn’t mind if a few zeroes were added to the balance of our bank account or investments (unless of course your statements are at zero). Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery? What about when you bought that lottery ticket? How much time did you spend thinking of all the things you could do with all the free time that would be available to you?

Have you ever been drawn to the multi-level marketing companies? “You too can have it all!! But you must act quickly so that you don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” No? I have. When I was seventeen, my older brother became a ‘distributor’ for cleaning products and was telling me how easy it was to sell, and how much I could earn by selling one bottle. I was sold. And so I too became a ‘distributor’ and went and found my first customer – our church custodian. The product said that it could take coffee stains out of cloth covered chairs. Our church had both the chairs and the coffee stains. I mixed the proper strength up, sprayed it on the chair, rubbed it in, waited, and then wiped it off. Voila! The stain was still there! Grrrr. Clearly I didn’t make a sale. I went back to my bro and asked him what was up. He explained that I just tell the customer that I will go back to the ‘lab’ (read – kitchen) and instructed me to double up on the strength, but just don’t say anything to them. Right! So much for getting rich!

There is a particular path we are to walk in this life, and if we choose to walk it, then we will find success in whatever we put our hands to. That path is called, ‘hard work’, and no, it’s not super-attractive, but it will work for you just about every time. The temptation is when someone or some thing comes along and suggests that there is a shortcut that you can take. But remember, when you say ‘yes’ to a shortcut, you are also saying ‘no’ to wisdom and common sense. When you veer off the well-worn path of wisdom, you are entering into the dense forest of disappointments, pitfalls, and poverty. Anything that poses as the secret to everything you’ve always wanted – just toss. You don’t need it and you definitely don’t want it. Take the path of wisdom, because on that path you will not only gain wisdom, you will also mature as a human being and be known as a person of godly character. In the end, you will be known as a rich and wealthy person, in more ways than one!

20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. Proverbs 27

I’m back in the saddle! We had a great Good Friday and Easter, both at our awesome faith community at the thevineyardchurch.ca and with my family. Enjoyed the time off and did some yard work and puttering around the house. Here’s an interesting tidbit for you. On Easter Sunday I pondered the resurrection and I came to the conclusion that Jesus is the ‘Beautiful’ that the world longs for. I say that because I tend to find that most people don’t have a problem with Jesus. It’s the ‘church’ that they have issues with, but again…I’m rambling. Onto the sayings of the wise!

The 27th chapter of Proverbs has a potpourri of wisdom sayings that should be allowed to marinate in our minds and hearts. However, this one stood out for me for whatever reason, and here’s the point that hit home…

Thank God (literally) that desire is never satisfied, otherwise, we’d never long for more and more and more. That’s what makes desire…well, desire! I wouldn’t want desire to be satisfied forever. Sure, there are times when we attain that satisfaction, and the satisfaction is good…temporarily…but then we want more. And that’s the beauty of desire. That’s also it’s downfall.

Because desire is never satisfied, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that if desire hits, we then need to satisfy it or ‘quench’ it. But the truth is, it always wants more. We have a better understanding of that today with the advances of science and the study of the brain.

Which is all the more reason why we must practice the art of self-discipline. Desire must be disciplined. It needs to be restrained to be healthy. Desire must be mastered, otherwise, it will master us, and when that happens, there is the potential that all hell will break loose.

So, don’t try to pray away your desires because you need them. Rather, bring a good dose of discipline to the situation and rein in those desires. You’ll be a much better person for it!